This invention relates, in general, to object-oriented computing environments and, in particular, to providing a distributed, object-oriented computing environment that is reliable, secure, transactional and workload managed.
Object-oriented technology continues to be an increasingly important tool for use in building portable application code that can be readily used and reused. A basic premise of object-oriented technology is the use of objects. An object is a run-time entity with a specific set of instance methods and variables associated therewith.
In an effort to enhance the usability, portability, reliability and interoperability of objects, certain standards have been created. One group responsible for such standardization is referred to as the Object Management Group (OMG), which is a consortium of different corporations, businesses and users interested in promoting object-oriented technology.
The Object Management Group has taken great steps in its standardization efforts. For example, the OMG is responsible for the creation of an object request broker (ORB), which is used to provide communications between clients and servers of a computing environment. The ORB is based upon an architecture touted by OMG and referred to as the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA).
One goal of the OMG is to provide distributed object-oriented applications and systems that coincide with the needs and desires of the ever-changing computing industry. This goal includes supporting multi-vendor, global heterogeneous networks.
Although efforts have been made to meet the goals of the Object Management Group, and of the object-oriented industry as a whole, further enhancements are still needed. For example, a need exists for a distributed object-oriented computing environment that is reliable, secure, transactional and workload managed.
The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the provision of a method of managing instances of an object of a computing environment. The method includes, for example, choosing a set of policies to be used to manage one or more instances of an-object within the computing environment, and using the set of policies to selectively manage the one or more instances of the object.
In one example, the set of policies manage at least one of state coherency of the object, isolation level of the object and residence lifetime of the object.
In a further example, the set of policies includes at least one of an activation policy, a passivation policy, a flush policy, and a refresh policy.
In another aspect of the present invention, a system of managing instances of an object of a computing environment is provided. The system includes, for example, means for choosing a set of policies to be used to manage one or more instances of an object within the computing environment; and means for using the set of policies to selectively manage the one or more instances of the object.
In yet a further aspect of the present invention, at least one program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method of managing instances of an object is provided. The method includes, for example, choosing a set of policies to be used to manage one or more instances of an object within the computing environment; and using the set of policies to selectively manage the one or more instances of the object.
The present invention advantageously enables a set of policies to be used to selectively manage one or more instances of an object. This provides a flexible mechanism to manage objects.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention.